A/N:

Kuro: Hey guys. Sorry for the LONG wait. I've been rather busy.

Sashi: Yeah, the damn fellow has to finish his graduation portfolio. It's about . . . FOUR FRICKEN INCHES THICK!?!

Kuro: Ahem, anyways . . . I'm sort of just trying to write. Hopefully by the summer I'll have the time, along with a full-time job. But don't worry, I've worked long enough to pull forth the benefits of a flexible schedule! But here's the next chapter!

Sashi: I don't own FF7, I don't own Vincent, do you think Kuro own's FF7?!? Just asking!

XD

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Chapter VII.

Hidden Politics.

----------

Vincent stood before a pair of grand doors, readying himself for what was to come. He had expected what was to come, but at the same time, he had a feeling of unease.

"The Regent would like to see you sir."

The soldier came bravely and confronted him upon his arrival. However, he could feel the fear due to his rather dark and threatening features. The fact that he did not hide his claw made a difference. But instead of voicing his answer, he merely bowed his head, before following the man, who he saw was trembling.

"Hey Vince, we'll be waiting there, okay?" Zidane pointed to a doorway just beyond the corridor. "That's where the Regent let us stay in."

Vincent nodded, and left the three, following the soldier. Even the three who looked at Vincent's back could see the fear from the man who was leading the vampiric-like man to the Regent.

----------

Now Freya was usually the quiet one. As a dragon knight, her battles were always ones without voice, as she would delve the spear deep within the hides and layers of all creatures who dared to come in her path. Her code of the knight made her silent unless it was necessary to speak. Her conversations with comrades were usually short and with precision, acquiring the answers or needed information before needing to speak more than necessary. And she was one to never ask questions unless it was truly necessary.

Now was the time. Because something in the back of her mind was telling her something, something very important that very much related to the man, nagging within the very depths of her complex mind.

"Zidane." Zidane looked up at Freya, who, by her position, was showing some sort of interest in something. "How exactly did you come across him?"

This caused both Zidane and Vivi to almost jump in surprise by her question. Well, for Zidane, he was just surprised that she showed interest at all. Vivi was just shocked because he was not paying attention till this very moment. But as if on cue, they looked at each other. One set of eyes asked for permission to tell, the other gave the answer.

Zidane recovered his composure immediately, before pointing to the resting room that the Regent had assigned them. "We'll tell you about it when we go somewhere private."

Freya nodded, and followed the two. If it was something that they could only speak in an isolated location, then it had to be an important subject.

But where had she seen, or heard of him before?

----------

Stepping into the elevator, Vincent allowed himself to look downward as the elevator went to the correct level, watching the grounds below darken and shrink as they rose. It was quite fast, for it even caused his cloak to flutter in the changed gusts from the elevator's speed. However, the trip was short, and soon enough, he was instructed to the doors.

They were the very doors that were before him now.

However, the Regent is an important man. Time was not something that anyone of importance could wait. With a single hand, he pushed open a single door, and entered.

"Welcome . . . Mr. Valentine, am I correct?" Vincent widened his eyes slightly, before allowing the look of surprise to wash away from his face. He knew the man of authority did not see it, but he did not like it when he did have such a look upon his half-hidden face.

He had heard of the Regent's condition.

However . . . he did not hear of this.

For sat before him was a giant insect, with a strange upside-down white antenna.

He could only assume that to be the mustache.

An ooglop, or a rather annoying creature with a skull-like fixture for a frontal part. In the folklore of his childhood past, these creatures represented bad luck, and were usually associated with the horrible luck streak due to their presence in those horrific events of war. Yet, like parasites they remained hundreds, no, thousands of years later.

He wondered why the unknown Entity had allowed them to remain in this world.

"Hello." Vincent gave a nod as he entered, his metal-toed boots clicking on the floor. He dared to come closer to the Regent. After all, he was called by him.

"Yes. I wish to -gwok- speak with you of what has happened -gwok- since their escape from Alexandria. I was wondering how you came across them."

Vincent merely allowed his mind to take over. He knew that this man was investigating something. "I found myself in the Evil Forest for I spotted the fiery airship crashing into the epicenter of the forest. I went in to investigate and by chance came across them."

"Ah, so it seems -gwok-." Vincent's felt a twitch, hearing the strange sound being emitted from the man. It was not his fault, his condition made him release such a silly sound. "But how did you fight? The Evil - gwok- Forest has many creatures, and along the journey, I -gwok- can only expect many of them to aim at -gwok- a person whose cloak is as bright as blood."

Vincent without hesitation allowed the Regent to see a part of the claw, partially revealed. He showed its sharp edges, the sound of shifting blades echoed in the hall. He lowered his claw, not liking to be told to do such a thing. He hoped that the Regent had frozen ever so slightly at the sight of the contraption. "This is my weapon, a gauntlet with claws, which is more than enough to incapacitate any enemy and foe."

"Ah, I -gwok- see." Another question was gone. That was good. "But, a mole in Alexandria told me of a sighting. Something he had never seen before." At this, the ooglop-Regent took out something from his pocket. It was a parchment. "He spotted a man . . . who was seen flying to the burning Airship, also known as the Prima Vista, the ship that of which was escorting the Princess to Lindblum." He closed the parchment, before looking at Vincent. "The man was in a blood red cloak, whose body was suited in black, and his very appearance had vampire-like features. My recon is known to be infamous in its information gathering, and I do not doubt his words, despite their out-of-world description. What say you of your alibi, Mr. Valentine?"

So it was brought into light. He cursed deep within as he heard Chaos chuckling, easily amused. "So it seems he knows Vincent. What will you do?"

'This is not an alarming account. But where he found out something of me, I found out something of him.'

"Hm? You mean—"

'Yes.'

Vincent looked at the Regent. He had caught onto something as well. "Did you intend to kidnap the Princess Regent? After all, I swore I heard of the Prima Vista escorting of the Princess to Lindblum . . ."

He saw the surprise on the ooglop man's face, before he heard chuckling gwoks from it. He could see the amusement from him. "I see you aren't like the knight Mr. Valentine. Perhaps -gwok- I should enlighten you on -gwok- some important information." He saw the line that represented the man's mouth curl, a smile. "First off, have noticed the tension between the great kingdoms?"

----------

"This Vincent-character . . . he just happened to come along?" Freya asked, sitting on the bedside across from Zidane and Vivi.

"Yeah. It was as if he just appeared out of thin air, saving Vivi and Rusty, and . . . me from being ambushed. I did have my hands full, so don't laugh!" Zidane said, seeing the curl of her mouth.

"I apologize. It seems amusing to see something like that surprise you. You were always the one full of surprises."

"Hmph. Well, but yeah, he's been with us, and well . . . did a lot of great things! He's has this weapon that shoots out strange projectiles that release a lot of damage!" Zidane sounded excited, trying to describe what he thought was an amazing weapon.

This confused Freya. Did he mean that this Vincent used bows and arrows? That was far from extraordinary, that was for sure. And if they released a lot of damage as Zidane said, then the arrows were out, as they, unless melded for a specific reason, were not truly deadly weapons unless given the correct precision.

"He can even use dark magic like me!" This caused Freya to snap her head towards Vivi, who only looked excited. In fact, she saw the immediate change in Vivi. It was as if Vivi himself looked up to Vincent. "He fights with a calm mind, it makes me wonder how he can do that."

"Yeah . . . you're right Viv." Zidane's tail waved behind him, creating a question-mark like shape with it. "He doesn't even look a day beyond thirty. He's got the patience of a damn hermit. Can't say, but he ain't ordinary." Zidane laid on the bed, looking upward.

"Zidane, by the sounds of it, nothing you have gone through since the . . . escorting of Dagger has been ordinary." Zidane nodded, knowing that Freya, who was always the sensible one long ago, was right.

"But it makes me wonder what he used to do before we met him . . ."

----------

Vincent stood there, not having the urge to sit as Regent Cid had offered him. Though it had been an hour, he felt no need to even twitch his legs about, due to the fact that his biology allowed him to stand without the strain or itch to move.

Besides, what he had heard would have made any man sit down, listening to the story Regent Cid had weaved.

There was a conspiracy. One that surrounded Princess Garnet Til Alexandros, who remained naïve to the changes around her. The Queen herself, the elephant woman as many have called her, was becoming suspiciously dark and enclosed, no longer as open and friendly with the Regent upon meetings. Even the talk of the Princess caused a dark shadow to overbear the Queen's features, something not normal in the once kindly queen. This alarmed the Regent greatly, seeing the girl in grave danger.

Upon the eve of the Princess's 16th birthday, the Regent had hired the men of Tantalus on the Prima Vista to kidnap the girl into the safety of Lindblum, to hide for the time to find out the true intent of the Queen's actions. He had hoped that the Queen would actually allow them to go, knowing that Princess Garnet was on that ship if visibly revealed.

However, because the Queen herself had reacted so violently, the Regent knew immediately that something was not right, and had in fact ordered a few prized soldiers to find the ship. But it had landed in the Evil Forest. It was a place that even the Lindblum soldiers of old were told to not enter. It had become a law that forbidden any soldier of Lindblum to enter that desecrated land.

For a moment, he thought that all hope was lost. No one was ever able to escape from the Evil Forest . . . alive. No one in history, recorded history had escaped, not without fighting with the heart of the forest.

That is, until a scout had told him that the forest itself had been destroyed. Or rather, petrified. That almost made him faint, knowing quite well that the Princess could still be in there, or killed.

But the scout had told him that he had seen a group of people escape, just at the brink of the forest's petrification.

He saw a knight of Alexandria.

A small boy.

A young man with a tail.

A tall and red-cloaked man.

And a girl wearing a dark orange jumpsuit.

She was later identified to be Princess Garnet.

With that, he assigned a set of soldiers to watch their progress. But soon found out that they had entered the Ice Caverns. Only due to a damn moogle's observations did they find out that there was a spell of enchantment in those parts. Apparently, there was a monster, or a fiend that had stationed itself within there, freezing poor creatures and calling forth sleep ailments on poor travelers, who died quietly in the snows.

However, the creature was confronted by a man, a man whose cloak bled crimson red, and hair was a dark and low ebony. The fight itself could be considered indescribable, as it seemed that the moogle had great difficulty in doing so. Later, a young boy with a tail had awakened, and they both slayed the beast and its master.

Finally, after the crash from the South Gate, it was spotted that a red object was seen falling from the flaming debris, and into the forest. Only a day later was there sightings of the red cloaked man at not only the entrance of the South Gate, but the very ride that took the red cloaked man to the other side.

To Lindblum.

It was so strange. Every time something happened, the man in the blood red clothing was there.

And so . . .

The pieces of a puzzle were placed. Each person was a piece, and with each placement of a piece, the puzzle become closer to completion. This created a picture of perfection. Princess Garnet was within the center, the unknown intention of her mother another, Zidane the thief represented a piece, as did Vivi, Steiner, and other individuals who came into contact with the Princess.

However.

If one piece remains gone, missing, or rather, misplaced . . . then the pieces shall not fit.

The story cannot be told.

This piece, was the man in the red cloak.

Vincent could see it, and Regent Cid saw it. He, in a way, was the one thing that the Regent needed to see first hand. And Regent Cid, needed to confirm of Vincent's identity firsthand. To see the final piece, and to see the picture finally complete. To assemble the puzzle, and to place the final piece.

And now . . . it was.

"Now that things have been clarified, may I invite you to the Feast of the Hunt? You are a comrade of the winner of the Hunt." Regent Cid suggested, breaking the silence between the individuals.

Vincent, though deep in thought, was not taken off guard by the man's suggestion. He only nodded, and in return, the man—ooglop, thing, smiled widely, crinkling its shriveled face.

"Good, good. Then shall we collect our high ranking Hunters?"

----------

"Hey Dagger!!" Zidane said, smiling handsomely at the Princess as she entered the chambers. Vivi ran up to Dagger in excitement, the girl slightly surprised by the child's reaction to her presence.

"Hello Zidane, Vivi." Dagger said politely. She bent her legs, going down to Vivi's level. "You did wonderful job out there Vivi. I'm proud of you!"

She did something unexpected. Pulling up the boy's hat, she placed her soft lips upon his forehead, and pecked a kiss.

Silence echoed throughout the room.

And a certain black mage reddened. For some strange reason, the blush of the boy was visible, very clearly visible. And being the shy boy he was, Vivi was shocked beyond comparison.

"P-P-P-P-P—ba—ba—ba—ba . . ."Vivi stuttered, uttered, and blubbered out a non-word-like reaction. The Princess giggled at the sight of the shy boy. Of course, someone felt a bit crestfallen.

"Hey! Where's my kiss of good will?" Zidane smirked childishly at the Princess. The Princess however smirked back, almost throwing off Zidane completely.

"We do have a date in the future, correct?"

Zidane smiled, before nodding his head. Of course, someone else was rather upset by this revelation.

"PRINCESS!! YOU CANNOT POSSIBLY DO THAT WITH THIS—THIS—THIS THIEF?!?!?" Steiner was unfortunately there. His shout of horror had broken apart the loose atmosphere of the room. Zidane rolled his eyes at Steiner's outburst.

"Aw, come on Rusty. Besides, Dagger promised me this."

Steiner looked at the Princess, pleading with his eyes. He hoped that this was not true.

But it was.

"That is correct. I promised Zidane that if he won the Hunt, I would allow one 'date' with him."

Of course, how can a knight go against his princess's word?

The knight's mouth was wide, gaping. A crowd of flies would have easily flown in, settled down, and fly out. The man wouldn't close it due to the recent shock, his mind obviously, shattered at the moment.

Vivi took the moment to poke at Steiner. "Steiner? Are, are you okay sir?" But of course, Steiner made no response, his mind still contemplating what exactly had happened.

However, they had forgotten that another individual was there. Someone who did not know that Dagger was in fact the Princess of Alexandria. "P-P-Princess?" Freya was speechless. Now that this was addressed, she easily recognized the girl. She was after all the proclaimed beauty of Alexandria, and had at times come to Burmecia along with her father in her childhood years. She remembered seeing the girl pass, a smile on her face. Many times, she knew that the girl wished to speak with her, as she was her age. But status stopped her from such an action. She was but a lowly squire, whereas she was of royalty itself.

And yet, she couldn't recognize her until now.

She had truly matured.

----

But let us veer from Freya's mindset, and to the scene before us.

----

Zidane's eyes widened, as did Dagger's. Both almost looked at each other, though Zidane did direct a glare at Steiner, who remained unaffected, and closed to the outside world. He merely sighed, before turning around to face the Burmecian. "Eh heh heh . . . . sorry. I . . . forgot to mention!" Zidane took hold of Dagger's hand, and pulled her forward in front of Freya. "Freya, meet Dagger, aka Princess Garnet of Alexandria! Dagger, meet Freya Crescent, Burmecian Dragon Knight in Wandering!"

"It's a pleasure to meet you Freya." Dagger said in good nature. A hand was held out, and another clamped it.

Freya couldn't help but smile. The girl was a nice girl, and she as any Princess had good manners. "It's an honour to meet you Princess."

Hands released, and the tension was gone. Of course, Freya pinpointed Zidane with her eyes. "Of course, I would like details as to why the Princess knows you, as to why she is in Lindblum, and not in fact in Alexandria . . . Zidane."

"Urk!" Zidane did a doubletake, before chuckling nervously. "Heh, I guess I should say something about that."

"I'm sorry to interrupt." All heads (except Steiner) turns, to see a soldier at the door. "But you are all cordially invited to the top floor. Regent Cid wishes to see all of you. Please follow me."

The soldier walked off, and the others followed. Dagger looked up at Steiner in worry, not liking his non-reaction to all that happened.

"Don't worry Rusty! Come on, don't want the man to wait!" Zidane slammed a hand on his back, his armor nonetheless. The man, who was inattentive of all around him, was now ripped away from whatever dimension his mind had been trapped in. He waved his arms wildly, and luckily regained his balance. He glared at Zidane, who was already walking out, letting the anger wash aside.

Zidane was too happy to possibly be affected. His pride began to rise, liking the sound of his name, his proclamation as the winner of the Hunt wallowing up happiness and joy. Unfortunately, pride like that can become hubris, a horrible quality for a young man.

-------

Upon entering the Regent's hall, they found the ooglop of the regent sitting at his throne, the prime minister at his side. He was bouncing with joy, and almost jumped due to the high level of energy he had. The Hunt was an exciting sight, and he wished to show them that he was indeed happy after watching such skillful display.

"That was a marvelous display of skills! All of you!" The Regent proclaimed. Surprisingly, he did say 'gwok' in his words as of far. But Vincent saw the man struggling to not say it.

"The scores were very close, but Zidane, congratulations! Two hundred sixty-five points is an all time new record!" Minister Artania proclaims proudly. Zidane's confidence skyrocketed.

Vincent watched from the side, shrouding his presence. The only ones who knew he was actually there were the Regent and Artania. And as he felt Zidane's emotions changing, Vincent could only frown as hubris began to rise from the teen. Inwardly, he, as well as Chaos, shook his head at the sight.

"But yes, all of you did a wonderful job! And protecting the populace nonetheless. I must make sure that my soldiers don't mess that up again!" A few chuckles were heard, and unfortunately, the Regent's laughter was a gwok-like chatter.

"I hereby grant you the "Master Hunter" certificate, as well as your reward." Minister Artania nodded as Regent Cid finished his words, and gave forth the two items that Zidane looked forward to taking. The certificate was rolled in ancient but strong parchment, and a sack of black leather, filled with coins.

"Thank you." Zidane said politely, but inwardly, he was grinning like that of a child.

Vincent stiffened, and allowed his eyes to shift to the doors. He allowed his ear to press against the wall, and remained still, not breathing.

Footsteps.

Ragged footsteps.

And ragged, pained, breathing.

It was staggered, shallow, deep, shallow, erratic.

And he heard a painful grunting, as if whoever was approaching was in excruciating pain.

He felt the beating of a heart, a weak heart.

A dying man was approaching.

He let his ear pull away from the wall, and thus, the doors burst open.

All eyes, ears, and minds trained at the sound, and gasps were heard. The airiness of the room was destroyed, replaced by horrified realization. For a Burmecian knight dragged his beyond repair body in the room. He could barely stand, limping as he struggled to walk. His head was doused in thick crimson blood, his eyes squinted, tears trickling out from pain, an arm limp and useless at his side.

He was about to collapse, but Freya jumped in, catching him before he fell. She hoisted and supported him. The attention was now on the poor man.

Vincent felt the tension rising in the room. But he would watch, and only watch. There was no need for intrusion yet.

"Please . . . forgive my intrusion." Vincent felt the pain in the soldier's voice, struggling to say those words. "Urgent, I bring urgent news, from our king." He hacked out, coughing. A hand went up to stop his cough. He pulled it back to find speckles of blood on the palm of his hand.

His time was near.

The Regent without hesitation jumped off his chair, and walked over. "What news do you bring?"

The minister's eyes widened, and he panicked. He said with a soft but harsh voice, one meant only for the Regent. But Vincent heard.

"You mustn't let him see you like this!"

Such worry was irrelevant, especially if the danger of an important man was at stake. The Regent knew this, and shook his head. He also pointed another key factor for his actions. Vincent saw them upon the entrance of the Burmecian man. "An injury has blinded him. Please, continue."

The soldier struggled, and coughed more blood. His breathing became even more erratic, but his voice was strong. It was the last burst of energy. Vincent could feel the very lifestream, or rather, the very strength of the man depleting by the passing second. "Our kingdom, it is being attacked by an unknown force! We are outmatched by severe numbers! Please, send reinforcements immediately!!" At this, many eyes widened, even Steiner, whose attention was drawn by the talk of war and battles. He was a knight after all. "The enemy is an army. An army . . . wearing steeple-crowned hats."

Vivi gasped loudly, causing Zidane, Dagger, and Vincent by chance to look in his direction. He trembled violently, and he was on the verge of crying. Neither of the teens close to him comforted him, as there was too much tension in that room.

Vincent suddenly felt a tug at his consciousness. It was Chaos. "It seems that the black mage has other comrades."

Vincent shook his head at this, his eyes trained on Vivi, who was greatly affected by this. 'No. He bled blood. He died with disappearing. He is human. And the memories . . ."

"I see. You are correct. But what of this strange occurrence? And remember those Waltzes? They are connected to that Elephant woman." Vincent was surprised at Chaos' reference to the Queen of Alexandria. He felt like chuckling, but refrained.

'They are connected to the Queen. The Regent is correct to assume that her behavior will endanger the vast population of this Continent. As for Vivi . . .' His mind trailed off, and though Chaos was a part of his conscious, he did not know of Vincent's true thoughts.

He felt Chaos return to wherever he was, and then allowed his eyes to watch and view what was happening before him. Sooner or later, he would have to step out of the shadows. After all, something like this was going to result in something catastrophic.

He could feel it in his bones.

The Regent, who was one of the few calm at the plight of Burmecia held out a hand. "The king and I are old friends. I shall send reinforcements to Burmecia immediately."

"Thank you Regent! Thank you! The king, and all of Burmecia are most grateful!!" There was so much gratitude within that voice. Vincent could hear that desperation, only to have it sated with support and the needed goals achieved. The man was ready to die, as he held up his head one last time, taking his final breath. "I . . . I must . . . I must return."

"The Lifestream calls to him." Vincent nodded, watching the final breath release. He could sense the very life being sapped away from him, to return to the hidden Lifestream.

And with that, the soldier's eyes closed, and his head snapped down, his body limp and slump.

Vincent saw instant tension in the female Burmecian's body. She was a knight, he knew that, and thus, her duty called for her return to her homeland. Like any hired person, they are to do as their job tells.

"I must go now. I cannot sit and wait for reinforcements." She was going to make her way to go, but Zidane stopped her.

"I'm coming with you." He snapped. Disbelief appeared on her face instantly.

"No. This does not concern you." Her voice was of sincerity. It was calm, a trained calm that Vincent had before he became . . . the way he was.

However, Zidane was never one to step aside. His stubbornness could very much compete against the size of the largest mountains. Vincent felt, knew, and experienced this first hand. "What's this! I'm a stranger now?!?" Zidane glared at her, but not with hatred. "I'm not going to sit back and watch your home get destroyed, alright!!"

With that sort of response, the Burmecian Dragon Knight had no possible way of denying his wish. She looked thankful, and nodded her head downward in uttermost gratitude. "Thank you Zidane."

"Um, can I come too?" Vivi asked. "I want to find out who they really are."

It was only sensible for Vivi to feel insecure of hearing this. Seeing the Black Waltzes more than likely shook him to a point.

"All right then," Dagger says slowly, "Let us go to Burmecia."

Immediately, the atmosphere in the room was changed. Upon her utterance, the faces in the room showed concern, horror, and even, sympathy. And of course, the one face that held such thoughts of horror was Steiner. "P-PRINCESS! This is a foreign matter! We cannot become involved!!"

"He is right. We do not know of Alexandria is involved." Regent Cid agreed immediately with Steiner.

"But . . . but if black mages are involved . . ." Dagger shook her head, and snapped her head towards Zidane, her brown eyes urging for support. "Zidane! You know what I speak of!! If Mother is behind this, I can stop her, I promise!!" Her voice was desperate, and in a way, was dependant on Zidane's own voice.

However, Zidane remained silent, and looked away from her. He was going to shatter it.

Vincent felt a feeling of nostalgia, watching this scene unfold. A lover's quarrel, as they say?

"I . . . I think you should stay here." Zidane said softly. He hoped to not hurt the Princess's feelings from his words.

But he did. He didn't know it yet, but in the short amount of time that he was with the Princess, he became a pillar of support for her independence. And now, with these words defying the Princess's urges, that very pillar was going to crumble soon.

"What/!?!" Dagger cried out in disbelief. She was indeed hurt by his words, especially because he was the one who supported her in the first place.

"We don't know what to expect when we reach there." Zidane reasoned to her. Vincent could decipher the emotions behind those words. Confusion, concern, but most of all . . . unearthed love.

But Dagger knew nothing of this love. She instead contorted her face into anger, and of pure stubbornness. She was intent on going alongside with Zidane. "I have faced many great dangers just coming here! What's the difference?!?" Dagger shouted at him.

Zidane was speechless. And there was silence.

And so, Vincent entered.

"What the boy is saying, is that you are a key factor in all of this." All turned to Vincent. Eyes recognized him, others were weary of his presence, and there were those who waited on his words.

He could only shake his head inwardly, he was of no importance here.

"Hypothetically speaking, you are a Princess, and are in a position of uttermost importance. If you were to be injured, abducted, or even killed, this war can become more that just a war . . ." Vincent looked into her eyes, such naivety remained within them. "This is a war concerning power and politics. You are a key character, and your interference can prove fatal for both you and your country."

"You're . . . right Vincent." Dagger said calmly, finally regaining some sense. "But as Princess, it is my duty to protect my country. I want to protect it, not be protected. And doing nothing shall only burden my kingdom."

"Dagger, this is war, a lot of people are going to die." Zidane tried to reason.

"I know that!" Dagger exclaims. She seemed to not like this treatment of being told like that of a child.

"Dagger, what did you feel when you say the soldier die?" Zidane waved an arm to the soldier's body.

"Sad . . . of course." Dagger said uneasily. True naivety.

"Sad?" Zidane seemed to ask. "Weren't you scared? Obviously, you haven't realized how dangerous this is, you can be killed. This isn't a great time to talk to the Queen."

"But—"

"If the worst case scenario happens, you shall die." This was deadpanned, and Vincent knew. These sort of words caught the attention of the Princess. "Falling in the line of fire shall destroy your kingdom." Vincent said roughly. This made Dagger freeze, her eyes locked by those crimson eyes. "You are the heir to the Kingdom of Alexandria. If you die, then the kingdom shall die." Vincent turned away, looking at the window. It was clear day, despite the heavy and disruptive news brought forth. "Time is wasted with such words."

Those cryptic words ended all questions from the Princess.

"He's right," Freya agreed with the gunman. "We must head to Burmecia at once."

"Then please enjoy the Hunter's Banquet. The Dragon's Gate is temporarily closed due to repairs." Regent Cid proclaimed. "This shall be a dinner to acknowledge your bravery in the Hunt, and for your future journey ahead!" And seemingly enough, Vincent predicted the Regent's next words. "Shall you join us Mr. Valentine?"

Vincent shook his head, declining. "I am fine. I have business to attend to." He needed to clean out Cerberus, as well as look at the long barrel's true capability.

"Please, at least accompany us to the Banquet hall!"

Vincent couldn't help but sigh, before nodded. At least he could clean the gun there.

---------------

The banquet hall was large, and all gasped as they saw the wide array of food before them. Anything a Hunter dreamed of eating was there. Chicken, pork, beef, a wide assortment of dishes that would please both the males and females in the room. Even the drink looked inviting.

"Whoa! What a spread!" Zidane almost drooled at the sight of it, but remembered that Dagger was in the room, he stopped himself from doing so. Vivi merely looked shocked, almost trembling in excitement at the sight. And Freya herself remained constrained, though wishful at the sight of the food. And of course, Steiner being the man he was, looked agaped at the sight of a pot roast that was calling his name.

Vincent smelled the food, but felt not a need for such food. He had no need to eat. Drink perhaps, but the drink he could smell was one that could be considered strong.

They each sat at the table, the Regent at the head, with the Minister by his side. All others sat at the sides of the table. Vincent sat at the end of the table, the end that was clear of the banquet's food.

The Princess however wasn't looking exactly excited. She was calm, and watched as the others began to look forward to the feast. Well, all but Vincent.

Vincent took out the gun Cerberus, and unlocked the barrel. Looking at it, he could see the grim that was beginning to build. With disdain, he took out the cleaning instruments and began to clean it.

He heard the merriment from the company before him, and glanced up.

Vivi grins happily, knowing what was to come. "Yay! I'm so hungry!"

The Regent chuckled/gwoked at seeing Vivi's excitement, and began his speech, "The Festival of the Hunt feast is one of our oldest traditions. It began well over five centuries ago, and has not changed since then. It is customary to eat with your hands, so go on, before it gets cold."

Eat with hands? Vincent was amused by it. And he couldn't possibly imagine the use of hands while eating food.

Then again, when he had seen that Turk venture in Tifa's bar, ordering THAT dish, he had to use his hands.

Shaking the old memory aside, he watched as everyone began to eat.

Everyone except Zidane, Dagger, and the one known as Freya.

"Let's just eat," Zidane proposes. "We can't do anything until the gate opens."

"…You're right," Freya agrees grabbing some fresh, hot, bread. She then proceeds to eat.

So that left only the Princess not eating.

Her behavior, it was suspicious. Well hidden, but suspicious nonetheless. As if . . .

Vincent raised a brow at this. In his past career long ago, he remembered individuals who fitted this behavior. It belonged to trained but poorly executed assassins. Using laced poison, and hesitating to eat due worry of capture, or by the overprocess of thought.

"Vincent!" Vincent was pulled out of his train of thought. He looked to the monkey-tailed boy. "Aren't you going to eat?"

Vincent shook his head, and obliged to cleaning the compartments of the guns.

"This turkey leg is calling your name!" Zidane offered in his face. Barely a few inches away mind you.

"No." The smell was nice, but he knew that eating was out of the question.

"You sure?? I mean, come on Vincent, I haven't seen you eat before, you must be famished!" Zidane offered once more.

"No." Vincent said coldly. The boy was now becoming irritated, and he now ignored him.

Zidane didn't like the lack of excitement, and rolled his eyes. "Fine, but don't come crying to me when you're starving because you didn't eat!" He obliged to take a mouthful of turkey leg, before going back to his seat.

Vincent looked at the Princess once more. But the Princess ripped her glance away from him, and to her plate. He had felt her stare for some time, and any observant person would as well.

"This is wonderful!" Steiner complimented outward as he took a bite from the beef. He then looked at the Princess, who was not eating. He became concerned. "Princess, why aren't you eating?"

If it wasn't for the luxurious food before them, the others would have noticed the concern, as well as her suspicious behavior. Perhaps Steiner knew because of his position as a guardian for the girl.

"Oh… I'm sorry," Dagger apologizes with a small smile. But that smile did hide the suspicion. And she was doing an excellent job in hiding it.

She grabbed a baked potato from the bowl on Steiner's side. Taking a small bite, she smiled to the knight, "You're right. Everything is so delicious." That was an even more suspicious remark.

But the knight remained unaware of it all. He grinned back at her before returning to the meal. "Indeed! Especially this beef, it is superb!"

"Oh . . . I'm so full . . . I'm . . . getting . . . sleepy." Vincent looked up upon hearing Vivi's sleepy voice, and saw Vivi's head on the table, the steeple-crown hat laying on the side.

Another thud, and the Burmecian Dragon Knight was down, her head on her folded arms, barely away from a bowl of strangely roasted vegetables.

Zidane was looking woozy, and seemed to barely hang on. Vincent saw him turn to Dagger, who only looked with guilty eyes.

"Dagger . . ." Zidane fell, asleep on the marble floor.

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Though it was not noticeable, the Regent and the Minister had also fallen asleep. And now remained the knight, the Princess, and well . . .himself.

Vincent stood up while Steiner began to create an outburst of what had happened, and slowly walked across, looking at the food. Finding a fork, he stabbed a piece of beef, and brought it up for closer inspection.

Strangely placed speckles, very small, very indistinctive, and faint were on parts of the beef. He looked down and now spotted it. Anyone could have mistaken it for a commonly used herb.

"The food wasn't poisoned Steiner." Vincent looked towards the Princess, who now stood up as well.

Of course, now Steiner realized, and gawked.

"You laced a sleeping herb into their food." Vincent said.

Dagger did not deny it. She nodded. "I understand what you said before Vincent. But, I'm going to go back to Alexandria, and try to talk to Mother." Dagger ran up to him, and looked at him with pleading eyes. "Please, I must . . ."

Vincent looked into those eyes. He found true devotion to the mission she had placed before herself. He nodded. "Understood."

This made the Princess relax.

"But remember, a war can change individuals. Your Mother, as you say is a kind woman. But she can be someone different. Be cautious."

Dagger blinked. "You're, you're not going to stop me?"

Vincent shook his head. "I shall not. You are old enough, and Steiner will prove to be a good escort." This brought Steiner out of that strange dimension once more. He now looked at Steiner. "Remain cautious knight."

Vincent began to exit the Hall, leaving the Princess and the Knight alone, when—

"Vincent!"

Vincent turned, an eye glancing at the girl.

"Thank you."

Vincent nodded his head ever so slightly, before slipping away, allowing them passage and privacy.

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He didn't not need any thanks. A creature such as himself helped not for thanks, but because it was needed.

This strange feeling he had was indeed strange. He did not know why, but it was the same feeling that was allowing him to let the Princess to her own devices.

'Are you sure to allow her to go?'

Vincent nodded inwardly. 'She must realize how naïve she truly is.'

'Will she not perish?'

It was likable, and yet, unlikely. Vincent shook his head, making one of the guards wonder as he passed by. 'If my feeling is correct, she shall not. She is strong.' And as by a strange power, his inside voice became stronger, and cryptic. 'And my place is in this company.'

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Thus Ends Chapter VII.

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A/N: You're probably wondering why Vincent didn't go with the Princess and the knight. Well . . . it's hard to answer a question like that, so I won't. Anyways, thanks to the following people! Of course, I'm answering only to those who reviewed anonymously.

Saya-ping –Thank you very much. Of course, I've been lagged by other stories, but I hope this chapter shall suffice.

Nowhere Man –Well, I'm not the one sick. Reiko is, or Sashi is. But she's fine now. The treatment is going well, so she'll more than likely recover fully, being the slightly optimistic person she truly is.

But thank you for the support. I just hope that I'll be able to speed up these chapters once my job allows me to have a more flexible working schedule. I also draw in the meantime, so I believe that also takes my time.

But I plan to complete this story.

Sincerely,

Kuro V. Higarashi